Retractable rudder



Nov. 28, 1950 c. J. VANDER ZANDEN RETRACTABLE RUDDER Filed July 30, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet l k M "if:

ATTORNEY .1950 c. J. VANDER ZANDEN 2,532,042

RETRACTABLE RUDDER Filed July 30, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 f ./0 25 W Y @57 INVENTOR l W /5 /fl+ I ATTORN EY flaw/zaef/avzkrm/z Patented Nov. 28, 1950 ED ST PAT NT QiF-FI' 2,532,042..

RETRACTABLE'RUDDER Clarence J.- Vander Zanden, Banks; Oreg...

Application J'ul-y'30, 1945; Serial No. 607,818

This invention relates generally to marine steering. devicesrand: particularly .:to: a retractable rudder.

The. main.- object' of ith-is: invention :is to provide a .rudder which will expedite: the backing. away ofrlanding crattifromza beach landing: andito providetaccurate. steer-"age of a craft while-going eastern;

The second: object to :provide a means for balancing: the resistance to. steerage'offerediby aft rudder whenmoving: astern.

Thecthirdiobiiect is tooprevent locking of: the steerageimechanisrn when going:.astern.-..

The fourthpbiect is to provide 1 a meens for giving: full control of. the: boat when screw is in reverse: actionibut' no way on boat;

Theefifth object-is to make itip'ossible to. move the hoatrastern at: hfllthrottle'without locking thasteering: mechanism.

The: sixth: object. is; to enable the coxswain to counteract: cross? crnrents, winds,- andsurf when retracting from beaches- The-seventhzobjeot isto make-it possible to withdraw from beaches at a greater speed thereby enabling the craft to get away from enemy fire and get out of the way of other incoming boats.

The eighth object is to minimize the loss of life and boats by eliminating and offsetting the causes and forces that otherwise would cause the boats to swamp and be otherwise damaged or destroyed.

Theninth object is to assist in holding 'bloats in position while washing sand out from underneath by. means of the reverse screw.

'Ihetenth object is to make p -ossibler precision timing .oiretraction to coincide-with the surf. and also tomeet the timing schedele-that is setup for specific. operations.

The eleventh object is to= make the boat more maneuverable for all types of operations.

I accomplish these and other objects in the manner set forthintheiollowing specification, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary vertical section taken along the line l! in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken along the line 2-2 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken along the line 33 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken along the line 44 in Fig, 1.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section taken along the line 55 in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section taken along the line 6-6 in Fig. 4.

Fig. '7 is. an end elevation of. the operating winch taken along the line 1-? of Fig. 1.

Fig: 8" is a. vertical section takenzal ong the linens-81in Fig.- 2 showing theretractablerudder in a lowered. position;

Fig.9 iswsirril'artor' igz 8 but showing the: retractable rudder in a raised position.

10' is vertical'sectionthrough a: rudder andirud'der well taken along the line Iii-4 01 111 Fig, 9.

Fig. 1 is an enlarged fragmentary section takenalong. the: line. ll-i I in Fig. 8 to. showthe clearance-between the retractable ruddersand; the under side of the boat.

Fig. 12. is ahorizontalsectiontaken along the line: l 2. 2 in Fig. 8:

Similar. numerals refer. throughout the several views.

Referring. in= detailto the.= drawing there is shown. a commoniorm of boat such as are'used in making landings on beach" heads; including the bottom 55, the-sides:i'fii andi'sterns ll. The usualdeeel. l8, stern. post:v i9; andfrudder supporting armzZfirare indicated. There is alsoshown a: propeller shait. iii which journals inthe post 5 8. and has. secured: thereon. the propeller 2 2. The; usual rudder. gfifflilOllntedi on. the-vertical shaftfii'fl"andg-journaling in the bearings 25 and 2 8 arealsorshovm. Nomeans isashown for. oper 2; rig-the shartzz -t but'itwillbearmderstood' that it? is. operated in :thecconventional manner either manna or, underpower.

Referringinow to my invention, same will be seenr-to consist .p-rinrarilyzoifa: pair of Irndd'er wells ai' closed at their-upper-ends 2*8 and'having. their loweredges: 28 flanged andzsecureditothe bottom i5? cans; of the bolts13l:

wells 2d. are-{disposed omopposite sides of the propeller shaft 25 directly behindthe. post 9 It-is desirable to: support. the upperrearmost ends :oithe wells; 21b 1 cans of: a crosschannelrSB through which the. .ounded' ends 211 project;

Within the portion 32 extends the retractable rudder post 34 On whose lower end 35 is secured a retractable rudder 3t. Slidably mounted on the post 35 is a gate arm 31 which can move down only to the bottom of the well 21 as shown in 8, it being prevented from moving out of the well 2? by means of the stop 38. Follower dowels 33 on the post 34 insure the downward movement of the gate arm 3'! and also insure it being in its lowermost position when the rudders 36 are in their lowermost position.

A packing M! is placed around the upper end of the post 34 and is held by the packing nut 4| to similar: parts 3 through which the reduced upper end 42 of the post 34 extends. The end 42 terminates in a squared tip 43 to which is secured by means of the washer 44 and screw 45 the tiller arm 46.

It will be noted that in Fig. 8 there is considerable clearance between the upper edge 41 of the rudders 36 and the lower edge 48 of the gate arm 31, whereas in the retracted position shown in Fig. 9 there is very little clearance. In fact the members touch at the point where the post 34 passes therethrough.

The reduced end 42 passes through a plate 49 which is suspended from the bridle 56 by means of a cable which passes around a drum 52 on the shaft 53 which journals in the bearings 54 and 55. A crank 56 is secured to the shaft 53 and is provided with a ratchet wheel 51 which can be held by mean of a pawl 58. This affords a positive means of raising the rudder 36. They are normally urged downwardly by means of the springs 59 which extend between the plate 49 and the bottom 15.

To insure a positive downward movement of the rudder 36 it is sometimes found necessary to provide a sheave 61 which is mounted on the bottom l5 by means of the standards 62 and the cable 5| which is attached to the plate 49, passes around the sheave 6| and then up to the drum 52.

Along the center line of the boat is mounted the vertical shaft 64 which journals in the bearings 65 and 66. The lower end of the shaft 64 is provided with an arm 6'! which is connected by means of a link 68 to an arm 69 secured to the vertical shaft 24.

Secured on the upper end of the shaft 64 is a quadrant plate 70 having an opening ll formed therethrough. Connecting the swinging ends of the arms 46 is a bar 12 above which projects the side walls 13 which are united at their upper ends by means of the plate 14. Between the plate 74 and the bar 12 are placed the bolts which hold the parts in their proper relation.

Slidably extending through the members 12 and I4 is a vertical index pin 16 provided with a spring 11 which engages the flange 18 formed on the pin 76. The purpose of this construction is to afford a means of driving the retractable rudder. For example, if the crank 56 is turned in a direction to raise the bridle 50, that is retract the rudder 36 to the position shown in Fig. 9 in which the rudders are stored within the wells 21, the first thing that takes place is that the pin 16 is withdrawn from the opening H permitting the rudders 36 to swing into a straight line position under the action of the back wash from the propeller 22 which brings the rudders 36 into alinement with the well 21 so that any further raising movement will store the rudders 36 in the position shown in Fig. 9.

Since the rudders 23 and 36 are now disconnected it follows that the rudder 23 can be moved independently while the rudders 36 are retracted.

If on the other hand, it is desired to back away from a beach the crank 56 is moved in the opposite direction, that is to lower the rudders 36, at which time the gate 3'! moves against the stop 38 which is its lowermost position, while the rudders 36 continue to move and affords the necessary clearance 41 and 48. Now the pin 16 may not be in register with the hole II but may be merely riding on the top surface 19 of the quadrant 10 until they do register at which time the pin 16 enters the hole H and the rudders 36 may be driven through the mechanism which operates the ordinary rudder 23.

It can be seen from the foregoing that by this relatively simple contrivance a means has been provided for accurately steering a boat away from a beach landing regardless of it position on the beach, it being merely necessary to operate the propeller in a reverse direction and to lower the retractable rudders as stated.

I claim:

A boat having in combination a hull, a main rudder having steering means therefor mounted on said hull, a propeller mounted at the stern of said hull in front of said main rudder, a shaft for said propeller extending lengthwise of said hull, a pair of rudder wells mounted on Said hull on opposite sides of said shaft, a retractable rudder mounted in each well, a retractable rudder post within each well having its lower end attached to a retractable rudder, a gate rim attached to each rudder post above its rudder forming a closure for the lower end of its well when a retractable rudder is lowered, each gate rim forming a bearing for the respective rudder post, spring means interposed between the hull and the retractable rudders for urging the retractable rudders downwardly, means for raising said retractable rudders against their springs, and a latch uniting the main rudder steering mechanism to said retractable rudders when the latter are in a lowered position.

CLARENCE J. VANDER ZANDEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file 01' this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

